Kingdom of Naples

The Kingdom of Naples was a medieval kingdom in southern Italy that existed independently from 1282 to 1442 under the House of Anjou, from 1458 to 1501 under the House of Trastamara, and from 1759 to 1806. Naples was previously a part of the greater Kingdom of Naples in previous centuries, but the Sicilian Vespers uprising of 1282 and the ensuing revolt and secession of Sicily led to Naples being ruled as an independent kingdom under the Angevins while Sicily was ruled by the Crown of Aragon. The kingdom fought against Sicily until it was conquered by Alfonso V of Aragon in 1442, and in 1458 his illegitimate son Ferdinand I of Naples inherited the kingdom, separating it from Aragon. In the turbulent Italian Wars of the first half of the 16th century, control over Naples switched between France and Spain, with the French ruling Naples from 1501 to 1504 and the Spanish ruling it from 1504 to 1759. The Viceroyalty of Naples was created by the Spanish to rule over southern Italy, and Naples' last independent incarnation existed from 1759 to 1806, when it was ruled by Ferdinand IV of Naples. From 1806 to 1808, Naples was ruled by the French before Joachim Murat became the client king of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, and Naples would be reuinited with Sicily until 1861, when Italy was finally unified.